Second Chances
by xdiamondxladyx
Summary: Takes place about 9 years before sunset beach starts. Feedback appreciated.
1. Longing

"How many times has he done this to me now?" Olivia Richards thought to herself as she grimaced at the bitter liquid staining her lips. She looked up at the clock for the hundredth time that evening, considering whether to give up again for the fourth time that week and retire to her bed. Their bed. God only knew which bed her beloved would be sleeping in tonight. "I'll be keeping it warm for you darling" she laughed into the darkness.

Gregory Richards cursed violently as his toe collided with the edge of the bed. Running straight to the shower, he didn't even notice the frame of his wife feigning sleep in the dark, still clinging to her bottle of wine. All that Gregory was concerned with was getting rid of the smell. There seemed to be something greatly illegal about transferring the scent of another woman into their bed. Although he could not work out why, Olivia already knew of his betrayal, he was sure of it. He had wanted her so badly tonight. It was all he could do not to sprint out of the courtroom and into his car. Her photograph had to be put down flat earlier that evening. The blonde from floor seven was sent packing after she cracked the glass encasing his wife's perfect face with her cheap stiletto. God, Olivia was intoxicating, but he could never let her know. Even as he stepped out of the shower he could still sense slivers of her fragrance bouncing against the bathroom walls.

Easing himself gently into the silk sheets, Gregory sighed in a combination of guilt, pity and disappointment when he caught sight of his wife. Her hair was muddled against her pillow in a chaos of dark brown curls, her long eyelashes were covered thickly in mascara and seemed to stick to her skin, and she was still wearing her suit, although the awkward angle in which she slept allowed Gregory to admire the fullness of her right breast. It seemed he had done this countless times, as he listened for her heavy breathing before running his hand through her hair, and drawing her towards him by her waist. She smelled divine. The soft scents of almond and lavender clung to his nostrils stubbornly and sent him reeling. He drenched her in his kisses. It had become a ritual for him, always beginning and ending with the delicate skin behind her ear. He craved her tongue, and the way it massaged every corner of his mouth, sending electricity towards every inch of his body. After watching her chest rise and fall for what seemed like an eternity, Gregory leant forwards, so close his nose wrinkled at her breath, and laid a simple kiss on each eyelid. "I'm so sorry, Liv" he whispered into her forehead, before turning his back to her and closing his eyelids, he couldn't let her wake up and find him attached to her.

"Coffee, black, blueberries, no yoghurt, thank you Rose," Olivia rubbed at the throbbing pain rising from both ears. She needed at least another day in bed, staying awake in order to simply feel his touch on her skin, was taking its toll. Suddenly, the silence of the kitchen was interrupted as two blonde children burst in. "Caity, you promised that I could sit in the front with daddy today! You promised!" The teenager looked livid as she poured herself a glass of milk from the breakfast bar, "Mom! I hope you haven't forgotten! Today is the mother& daughter coffee morning at school, are you coming?" Olivia looked to her daughter, startled. "Oh, of course I hadn't forgotten Caity; it's just that Mommy has such a terrible head..." "No surprises there" Caitlin retaliated. "Forget it, I'll ask Aunt Bette." Olivia flinched as the door to her daughter's bedroom slammed shut loudly above her. "Good morning" Gregory declared as he entered the living room. "Is it?" Olivia replied, coldly. She had always thought here had been no place for his cheerfulness in the mornings. As far back as Olivia could remember, mornings were a time for subdued whispers and grouchy moods for at least the first hour of every day. But his days held promise, purpose and definition, her days held nothing but longing, misery and tears. "No Sean, Caitlin sits in the front seat, she's the eldest, and she's daddy's little princess, how many times do I have to tell you?" Olivia winced with pain at the crushed look on her only sons face, "But daddy she said she'd trade me, she promised!" "And I'm telling you Sean Richards, Caitlin sits in the front!" Gregory always had the last word, even if his argument was with a nine year old boy.

Gregory picked up his briefcase and began to make his way towards the front door, only to find that his route had been interfered with. Olivia stood in the doorway, in a silk lilac robe, still sporting last night's make-up. He felt his heart stop in his mouth as he watched her tiptoe across the marble floor towards him. She stopped, less than an inch from him, as Gregory felt himself freeze all over. "Darling" she began, her eyes were like pools of sapphires, Gregory thought, as he gazed down at her. "Are you free for lunch, today?" She was caressing his tie now, but all the time her eyes remained fixated on his. "Because, I was thinking that, you could come home and I could…" She paused for a moment to lick her lips, "I could, fix you….something nice? Something you really, really want. Please darling, it's been so long since…" Her eyes were flooding now, as the hot salty liquid spilled from them. Gregory cleared his throat, looked to the corner of the ceiling and muttered "what I really want, Olivia, is for you to sober up, and stop making me look a fool when I have to introduce a cheap alcoholic as my significant other."

Olivia Richards had been right, when she thought that her days held nothing but longing, misery and tears. She longed for Gregory in a way that a starving child would long for a morsel of bread. She lived for the nights, which would find her equally longing husband by her side, where he unwittingly made her feel like a woman again. Her misery was becoming unbearable, as her children grew up and away from her, and her only friend, alcohol, was no longer supporting her the way it had previously promised. For Olivia, the worst part of her day was the tears. She spent most of her time crying, crying over a life that she had considered over many moons ago. "You're pathetic" she screamed at the crumpled, broken woman in the mirror, "How could he love you? How could anybody ever love you?" Reaching for her vodka, a little earlier than was customary for her, Olivia brought her wedding photograph crashing down from the ornament stand. She began to laugh hysterically as the faces taunted her from the floor. "God knows why I stay with you Gregory" she said, helping herself to another swig of vodka from the silver flask, "For you, it's the fear of an empty bed." She burst into another fit of hysterical laughter as she took another swig. Longing is such an agonising process.


	2. At Its Best

He needed a distraction. Any form of a distraction. Gregory couldn't believe how much power that woman still possessed over him. He just wanted to hold her, touch her, kiss her, and devour her completely. He could not concentrate on the affidavits that had been placed on his desk before the board meeting that morning. His mind raced at full speed with thoughts of Olivia. Gregory hated her. He despised how much he adored her. His only weakness was a woman too weak to stay away from that deadly drink, what would his father think of him, if he could see him now?

12.33, the clock read. His lunch break loomed closer, and Gregory considered once more the possibility of returning home to see her. He relished the thought in his mind for the final time before charging to the door, with his car keys in hand. What was wrong with him? Gregory smiled amusedly as he backed his car out of the entrance, "What have you done to me Liv?"

The silence, which greeted him, was deathly as he pushed open the front door to One Ocean Avenue. Gregory padded upstairs softly, loosening his tie as he ascended. "Olivia?" he called once he had reached the first floor landing. A choking sob followed, causing Gregory to take a deep breath and prepare himself for the worst as he gently prised open his bedroom door. "Olivia? Why are you sitting in the dark?" An answer from his wife was not necessary, as the audible clinks of glass hitting human teeth rang throughout the darkness. Olivia squinted as the lights cruelly filled the room, blinding her, making it impossible for her to witness Gregory pulling the bottle from her hands, and grabbing a glass of water from their bathroom. "What…" She seemed bewildered.

She screamed as the cold blanket bombarded her face, but when she stopped, the screaming was still there, ringing in her ears, deeper than her own scream, these screams belonged to Gregory. "Look what you've done to this family!" Gregory stood before her, as she sat on her bedroom floor pitifully, weeping like a child. He was panting hard; a vein had appeared in his temple, protruding through his sweating skin. Before even catching his breath, he descended to her level, and grabbed her chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to face him, though she kept her eyes cast down. "Look at me when I speak to you Olivia!" he commanded. "This stops here! Now! Or you're out!" Olivia finally made eye contact, his eyes seemed softer, more accommodating, yet she was looking at him, and she could tell he was livid. "What's the point of staying?" She asked calmly, quietly. "You don't even look at me, god forbid you should touch me" His hands dropped to the floor, he had no response, it was true, he couldn't bring himself to make love to her anymore, it was too dishonest.

Olivia retreated to the king sized bed behind her, burying her head in the pillow, as she struggled to keep her eyes as dry as possible. Why had he even come back? Gregory mustered all of the strength he possessed in order to move towards his distraught wife. Slowly, he placed on hand on her shoulder as he sat himself down on the edge of their bed. "You should hate me," he whispered into her ear. "Believe me Gregory, I have tried, countless times, countless ways" she spat the words, bringing her face level with his, "and I'll carry on trying until I succeed, because quite frankly _darling, _you're making me drink myself to death"

The words tasted as sour in her mouth as they sounded shrill to his ears, but the taste was not bitter enough for her to want to take back her words, in fact, she was secretly proud of the way they had rolled off her tongue with such ease, but then again, she was drunk. Olivia maintained eye contact with her other half as she revelled in the hurt that exuded from his eyes. She was beginning to understand why he felt so comfortable in his regular position of power, always pushing her buttons, and calling her shots. There was no one who was able to understand his or her complicated relationship, but there was an element, which presented itself as obvious to Olivia, this was called control.

He was flabbergasted; standing motionless less than a foot from the woman he was so ready to give himself to, just moments ago. He had overreacted, and was inwardly castrating himself for flying off the handle so rapidly. He poured his gaze searchingly into her eyes, looking for a glimmer of an emotion, regret or perhaps even a look of amusement as she revealed it was all an act. Instead, as he looked deeply through the windows to her soul, he found nothing but a cold stare as she sealed the lid on her feelings towards him tightly shut. He composed himself as he prepared his razor sharp tongue, "You may try until you are blue in the face, my dear, because quite frankly, I am past caring where you end up, _even_ if it's back down to the gutter." The look of satisfaction on his face was sickening, Olivia thought. "Oh Gregory, you're gravely mistaken if you think that after this, the gutter would be a step down." "I don't have time for your games Olivia" Gregory retorted, "I have our children to think of, don't wait up for us, I'm taking our daughter out in order to try and salvage some of the mess you made of her mood this morning!" And with that, he was gone, like the wind.

She was beautiful, Gregory thought, as he observed his daughter from the other side of the shop, waiting for her to make her decisions, she took after her mother in this respect, he thought, always wanting to be immaculately dressed. It did not go unnoticed by Caitlin's father, that his daughter was the object of interest for many a sleazy teenager loitering in the mall that day. Gregory hated them all as he narrowed his eyes at a group of jocks, nodding in appreciation at his 13 year old daughters slim bare legs, exposed from underneath her denim shorts. He seized his moment, Caitlin was looking alternately at a pastel pink dress and a white tennis skirt, "come on sweetheart, we'll buy them both" Gregory said, wanting to hurry her away from the male group without embarrassing her, "and we'll buy you those shoes you saw in the entrance, as well as that jacket hanging in the back, come on dear, we've got places to go." Success, he thought, as his blonde daughter skipped happily towards the cashier, giving him time to glare at the boys one last time before producing his credit card. $300 and 4 shopping bags later, Gregory and Caitlin Richards walked out of the mall hand in hand; one was looking up adoringly, while the other smiled down fondly.

"Oh what did Greg do this time honey?" Bette shouted from the porch as she held a glass of whisky in the hand that wasn't holding the door open for her oldest friend. Olivia snatched the glass gratefully and after a second, was already on her way towards the drinks table for a much-deserved refill. "Slow down sweetheart, we're not in a drought." "I swear, that man…" Olivia spat through gritted teeth, pointing an accusatory finger at Bette, and waving her glass in the air, until the words found her. "I build myself up to meet his damned expectations, and then he swats me away, knocking me down, I'm just never going to be good enough again, not like before." Olivia's eyes glazed over as her mind gathered recollections of life when it was at its best.

"We can't!! Not here! Gregory are you out of your mind?" The laughs were soon muted as his lips met hers in frenzy. "Says who? I don't see a sign?" He wouldn't have cared even if the hotel manager himself had sought him out with an arrest warrant from the supreme court in hand. Gregory Richards had always been an impatient character, and nothing appealed to him less than the thought of opening the door to their suite and going through the motions of arriving to the bed. No, even as a child, he had always opened his Christmas presents early, and now he had to unwrap her in a re-enactment of his excitement and anticipation, as his heart threatened to shoot straight out of his chest with the next beat.

Electricity shot straight through Olivia's legs as soon as his hands found his way to her satin stilettoes, not taking the time to unbuckle them, but instead prising them off her feet and throwing them carelessly aside with a loud thud. Her hands fumbled with his bow tie, an impossible task to undertake with her violently shaking hands. She gave up, and instead began to battle with the belt on his trousers. Holding her torn blouse in hand, Gregory noticed that fresias seemed to fill the air, in an explosion from her chest, invading his nostrils as his eyes popped at the sight of her breasts, which seemed to be begging him to free them from their prison of black lace. She giggled bashfully, biting her lip whilst recognising their chance to avoid being thrown out of their seven star luxuries. She took his hand and led him down the carpeted hallway towards the 'Ocean Suite.'

The door had barely snapped shut behind them before he scooped her up, ignoring her laughs and shouts of protest, before throwing her down, making sure she was well cushioned by the softness of the Egyptian cotton. "I wasn't aware we were on our honeymoon, Gregory Richards" Olivia pouted fondly in mock irritation. She ravelled her arms around his neck, hoisted herself up towards him and planted a tender kiss just above his lips, "I love you," she whispered. These were the days when the simple 3 words were worlds away from a cliché, and they still filled them each with the energy they needed to send their hearts racing and cause Olivia to melt before her lovers' eyes. This was all the provocation that he needed, and the clasp didn't snap a moment too soon, as he began to lavish her breats with attention, sucking tenderly on the delicate skin above her nipple. His icy hands made her shiver as they clasped around her ribs, transporting his lips upwards, kisses coiling around the softness of her neck.

Olivia's shivering was no longer associated with any temperature descent, but pure anticipation, so poweful that even the tingling sensation in her toes seemed to overpower the feeling of Gregory's fingers stroking the delicate flesh between her legs. His mind was racing, yet locked dead at the same time, while Olivia's tongue commited unforgiveable sins on his chest, biting down hard on the two soft pinacles. She was moaning, rolling her head in a mixture of delight and agony as Gregory's thumb became more abusive on the senstive spots of her anatomy.

He withdrew his fingers a split second before she gave way, and groaned with pleasure as he watched the thick mane of curls descend towards his lower regions. Goosebumps appeared all over him to offer a contrast to the wet warmth that was now surrounding the inbetweens of his legs. Gregory could almost be certain that if there was a heaven, he was skimming the surface of it now as he moaned in the sheer pleasure of it all. She braced herself as he grabbed at her shoulders to steady them both; he sucked in sharply while she bit her lip, the blue of her eyes sparkling with a look of knowing.

The force of his thrust almost knocked the wind out of her and she took a moment to enjoy the feeling of being full to the brim with him. Olivia pushed her hips upwards to take in as much of him as she possibly could, and in return for this sign of passion, Gregory became more urgent and violent as he slid in and out. They were both hanging on to the edge by the skin of their teeth, wanting to be trapped in the moment, whilst simultaneously not being able to wait until it was over.

Her hair was plastered to her face, as she rocked her hips towards Gregory. "Oh, Gregory!" Olivia managed to gasp just before it all came crashing down and the hot feeling seemed to flush out of her, the relief of finally being released from his clutches bringing with it an almighty scream which echoed long after the sound had vanished. He bit down hard on her lip as he relased into her, shaking with the strain that had caused him to be momentarily blinded as drops of sweat tried to settle in his eyes. He withdrew, panting for breath and feeling for the first time that he needed to quench his thirst.

He turned his head to his left, holding eye contact with her as he rolled her towards him by her wrsits. With one swift movement, he shuffled them both underneath the covers and kissed her head before she fell asleep, exhausted, his chest as her pillow.

"Yoo-Hoo! Earth to Livvy!" Olivia jumped as Bette had brought her speeding back to reality with a start. "Sorry…I" she couldn't finish. Olivia picked up the snakeskin handbag and shook her head with disappointment. Trying to rectify the stubborn creases in her mauve suit, she got up and began to click her heels towards the door. "I'm sorry Bette, I just, I shouldn't have come, I-I need to be alone, just to think, just to…" but she was already gone, leaving the strawberry blonde woman in a state of utter confusion in the middle of the porch. "Rather you than me honey."


End file.
